514 Bibliographical Notices. 



must say we think it amounts to a serious fault) is the unnecessary 

 multipHcation of genera. It is perfectly true, as Dr. Jerdon states 

 (Introd. p. xxxiv), that " in practice, and till the whole realm of 

 ornithology is presided over by a master hand, no distinction [be- 

 tween genera and subgenera] can be satisfactorily pointed out, or 

 acted upon." But on this very ground surely it would have been 

 the more simple as well as the more convenient plan not to have ac- 

 quiesced in the minute subdivisions which it has become the fashion 

 of so many writers now-a-days to make. They cannot fail to be 

 perplexing, if, indeed, they are not actually repugnant, to beginners. 

 Injustice, however, to Dr. Jerdon we are bound to say, and we say 

 it with pleasure, that none of the subdivisions we complain of seem 

 to be of his invention. 



From what has been said at the beginning of this notice, it will 

 be seen that we regard this work as the foundation of a new edifice 

 to be raised on Indian soil by builders as yet unknown to fame. It 

 can scarcely be seriously doubted, indeed, that its publication will be 

 an effectual incentive to the study of ornithology in that country, 

 and the results cannot fail to be gratifying to all promoters of the 

 science. But from another point of view Dr. Jerdon's arduous 

 labours merit great praise. The friends of the new system whereby 

 the Indian Civil Service is replenished ought to hail our author as a 

 benefactor to those who under it obtain government appointments. 

 What can be worse for a young man, as highly educated as the suc- 

 cessful candidates for these much-coveted offices are said to be, than 

 to be banished to a remote post, far from the society of his country- 

 men, and with no rational employment whatever to occupy his mind 

 after the daily routine of work is finished ? He has not the stout 

 bodily constitution, it is alleged, which generally distinguished the 

 uncrammed cadet of the ancient order of things. No wonder then 

 that the " competition-Wallah " succumbs under the enervating in- 

 fluence of a tropical climate, and flies to "brandy-pawnee," or other 

 things worse, as a refuge against the attacks of dull care. Dr. Jer- 

 don has now placed within his reach the means of prosecuting a 

 recreative occupation, healthful alike to mind and body, with the 

 consciousness that in the enjoyment of it he may be able to swell — 

 it matters not to how small an extent — the great and always increasing 

 amount of human knowledge. This fact seems to have been ap- 

 preciated by the last two enlightened rulers of India, Lords Canning 

 and Elgin, under whose auspices these volumes have been undertaken 

 and elaborated ; and we learn with pleasure that the first of them, 

 during his ever-memorable viceroyalty, placed the author " on 

 special duty, with a view to the publication of the present work, thus 

 giving him full leisure to devote to the completion of his researches 

 and to the progress of the book tlj rough the press." We regret, 

 however, to hear that of late Dr. Jerdon has been ordered by a sub- 

 ordinate official to return to his professional avocations ; and what- 

 ever success may attend that gentleman's other measures, we feel 

 sure that this step will prove to be a very short-sighted one, if it 

 prevents the completion of the remaining manuals of the series which 



